We are honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by recognizing Citizen Schools, a nonprofit that is carrying forward his legacy by working to close the opportunity gap. Here’s what they’re working on to empower youth:

Expanded Learning Time (ELT) model. Volunteer ‘Citizen Teachers’, who are subject matter experts from the local community, teach 10-week apprenticeships in middle schools, helping students learn about a variety of topics and put what they’ve learned into practice. At the end of each semester, Citizen Schools students participate in a WOW! event where the tables are turned; the students take what they’ve learned to teach teachers, parents, and other members from the community.

The Catalystmodel brings the core of their Expanded Learning Time model – the apprenticeship – to life during the traditional school day, helping to inspire students, bring real-world relevance to what they’re learning in school, and increase interest in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM).

Participation in US2020, where Citizen Schools connects STEM mentors to volunteer opportunities across the country network through a network of local coalitions that provide hands-on STEM education and maker-centered learning opportunities for students.

Citizen Schools students participating in a mock trial as part of their apprenticeships

Helping Community Members Help Their Communities

In addition to working with young people in schools, Citizen Schools’ team of AmeriCorps Teaching Fellows and VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America), who share the goals of Citizen Schools, work alongside experienced educators and expert volunteers from the local community to help make meaningful changes in their communities.

“Not only are we closing the opportunity gap with our students, but we have the privilege to shape the minds and hearts of young public servants,” says Brandi Jimenez, Citizen Schools’ Director of National Service. “We are investing in our students, and we are investing in communities all across the country. As a public servant myself, that’s really all that matters.”
Honoring Dr. King Through Acts of Service
Today, on the MLK Day of Service, those Citizen Schools Teaching Fellows and VISTAs join AmeriCorps members across the US for a “day on, not a day off” participating in a variety of public service projects.

Here are a few examples of service projects in which Citizen Schools is participating:

In California, AmeriCorps members in the Bay Area are helping at homeless shelters and making the great outdoors a little greater, planting trees and cleaning up the ocean shore.

In New York City, AmeriCorps members are assembling food packages for those who receive services from the Community Kitchen and Pantry in West Harlem.

“MLK Day of Service is a way to honor his life and teachings by engaging in community action that continues to solve social problems,” Jimenez says. “Service breaks down barriers by bringing people from different experiences together—volunteering can unite Americans of all ages and backgrounds while building stronger communities.”

Using Salesforce to Scale Acts of Service

Citizen Schools aims to make a big impact in 2019 by thinking big, all while maintaining a community focus. According to its website, the organization plans to “serve over 100,000 students in 28 communities across the United States — reimagining the way students learn in the classroom, after school, and in our communities — to ensure equal opportunity for all.”

At that scale, to organize volunteers, track their impact and student engagement, and fundraise effectively, Citizen Schools counts on Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud. To find out how Salesforce can help scale your nonprofit efforts, learn more on Trailhead or read this e-book about Nonprofit Cloud.

“Salesforce does so many things for us, from revenue forecasting to relationship management, to tracking volunteer impact and student engagement, Jimenez says. “Nowadays, we have to rely on the data to shape and frame our strategy, and we do this by using the Salesforce platform.”

And because Citizen Schools must change its focus depending on the needs of both its programs and the job market, it also uses Salesforce to keep its operations flexible.

“One of the very best things I’ve heard about our use of Salesforce is the capability to customize the platform to what works for our specific needs at any one point in time,” Jimenez says. “What we needed 10 years ago is not what we need now, and Salesforce has grown with us and allowed us the flexibility and adaptability to adjust.”

Get Involved and Volunteer!

Learn more about how to help Citizen School’s further its mission to close the opportunity gap here on their website: CitizenSchools.org.

And wherever you are—on the MLK Day of Service or any other day—consider volunteering in your community so we can build a better future, together.

]]>HubCap: Take Full Advantage of the Power of Us Hub! January 2019https://www.salesforce.org/hubcap-take-full-advantage-of-the-power-of-us-hub-january-2019/
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 14:35:47 +0000https://www.salesforce.org/?p=37559Salesforce MVPs gather at the Community Sprint in Denver, 2018 Welcome to the HubCap The HubCap is the monthly blog series that highlights the best of the Power of... Read More

Welcome to the HubCap

The HubCap is the monthly blog series that highlights the best of the Power of Us Hub! Think of this as your one-stop-shop for all Salesforce.org content and resources from the past month and a preview for what’s up and coming.

This recap will be a different this month — instead of a monthly recap, we’ll give you the best of the best from 2018.

So, let’s take a look at what happened in 2018!

10 Content & Community Highlights from 2018

1. Awesome New Product Features, Fixes & Updates

Customizable Rollups are here! Rolling up donor data is an essential part of fundraising with the Nonprofit Success Pack. And since every nonprofit is unique, it is especially important that you’re able to roll up exactly the data you need, and to the right records. With Customizable Rollups, you can create as many custom rollups as you need and define their process, filters, and where they roll up to…. check out all the details. Also, check out: Hard Credit vs. Soft Credit Customizable Rollups

Soft Credit Automation and Platform Data Encryption are now GA! With Automated Soft Credits, you no longer have to manually enter soft credit influence, instead, soft credits are automatically created based on Affiliation or Relationship information in the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP). By enabling Platform Encryption, customers who have purchased Shield platform encryption can encrypt various fields in NPSP including: Account Name, Account Billing Address, Account Website, Contact Name, Contact Mailing Address, Contact Other Address and Contact Title

2. Lightning Adoption

Bootcamp: We hosted four 6-week Lightning Bootcamps in 2018. These bootcamps guide you through a basic Lightning transition in a supportive setting. Each week we’ll cover a different topic and present resources and best practices to support you. By the end of the bootcamp you should be well on your way to rolling out Lighting to your organization. Links to register are in the Lightning Chatter Group in the Hub! Keep an eye on the left hand navigation as information is updated!

8. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Resources

The European Union (E.U.) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was passed in 2016 with the intent of harmonizing European data protection laws into a single set of rules, while setting a new global gold standard for data protection and privacy. In effect on May 25, 2018, the GDPR is one of the most comprehensive and strictest regulations of its kind in the world. Learn more — all resources on the Salesforce.org’s GDPR website!

That’s all, folks. Thank you for everything!

We want your feedback! Hop in the Hub and post to Lizzy’s profile, include the topic #HubCap and let us know your thoughts! Also, let’s keep the good times rolling… see something we should include in next month’s edition? You guessed it, comment with the topic #HubCap to contribute to the blog. Until next time!

From, Your Salesforce.org Community Team

The Power of Us Hub is an online community for Salesforce.org customers, certified partners and staff. The Hub is a place for you to get answers, build your Salesforce skills, share your expertise and connect with others in the nonprofit, higher ed and K-12 sectors who are using Salesforce!

]]>Salesforce in the Middle School Classroomhttps://www.salesforce.org/salesforce-in-the-middle-school-classroom/
Thu, 17 Jan 2019 20:36:52 +0000https://www.salesforce.org/?p=37551By: Mike Rutherford, High School Technology Coordinator and Librarian at International School Bangkok, Thailand As a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher at International School Bangkok, I had my... Read More

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By: Mike Rutherford, High School Technology Coordinator and Librarian at International School Bangkok, Thailand

As a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher at International School Bangkok, I had my hands full, as every middle school teacher knows! I was teaching 108 students and was responsible for helping them meet or exceed our grade level standards as readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. With 108 students, I was struggling to manage all the data related to teaching and learning. The amount of time I spent finding and then having to organize information was astonishing.

Key student data was all over the place: I had students’ papers where I provided feedback on their writing, my notes from conferencing with students on their reading, information from counselors about certain students’ needs, standardized test scores, parent information, phone numbers, email addresses, emails from parents, student journal entries, Individualized Educational Plans (IEP), accommodation plans, allergy or other health information, etc. This amounted to an average of 17 disparate sources of information about each student that I had to manage. Multiply that by 108 students and that is 1,836 pieces of information. And, that number was not static, because students are constantly creating more data (work) every class period. Additional assignments with feedback, conversations to capture, goals, emails, scoring tools/rubrics, and reading logs. This number kept increasing at an exponential pace.

There was one other time in my life I felt like I was drowning in data, which was when I was working in sales and marketing in the private sector. I was marketing to 250,000 prospects across the United States via email and direct mail. With that many prospects, I was unable to manually keep track of who was sent what, when they called, what was discussed, and what they purchased. So, I had turned to Salesforce to help manage all the data from these prospects.

Fast forward six years later and I am again drowning in data, but in a very different setting – as a classroom teacher. After a year and a half of struggle, I had had enough, and realized – couldn’t I use Salesforce to solve this similar problem I had a few years ago? So, I moved to Salesforce.org Education Cloud for K-12 to create a classroom database to track all 17 disparate data sources I had for all my students. I applied my prior experience in constituent relationship management (CRM) from sales to an educational setting.

How Salesforce for K-12 Enables Student Success

I’ve been in the education world nearly my entire life, as a student, teacher, administrator, business person, and now a teacher again. Being in education, I have heard the words “transformative educational technology” used often. But this time, it was different. Salesforce changed how I approached teaching and learning. The ease with which I could capture and analyze data freed me up to spend more time actually teaching and providing feedback to my students on their learning.

With Salesforce, I was putting all of my student’s work into one place. When I needed to see the feedback I had provided a student on their writing or reading from a previous conversation, I was able to easily access it. This allowed me to immediately see if they had demonstrated their learning on the current assignment, and we could set goals for the future. At parent-teacher conferences, I didn’t show parents their children’s grades, I showed them what they had learned and gave them examples of their growth as readers and writers. I had such a rich portfolio of student work accessible in Salesforce for each student that I could show the parents, teachers, and the students themselves all their work with the click of a button.

Here’s an example (note that this is not an actual student, for privacy protection):

Thanks to Salesforce, I became the go-to resource for teachers’ team meetings for information about our students. What is Jimmy reading now? Does anyone have the email Mrs. Gonzalez sent us? What does it say about Phong in his accommodation plan? How is Mina’s writing progressing? Who does Paula have for Spanish? How did Augusta do on her reading assessment? I had all of this information available immediately by opening my students’ Salesforce records.

Sharing Best Practices in K-12 Data Management

At our next team meeting, two colleagues approached me and asked, “How are you getting that student information so fast?” I showed them the student learning database I created in Salesforce, and they were sold. Given that we taught the same students, I was able to add them as users and shared the necessary static data regarding the student profiles. We then met and designed what they needed as math teachers, which was different than what I needed as an English teacher. We set up each of their units as sections so they could find what they needed quickly. We realized that the notes and feedback we were putting into Salesforce about our students was also important for our Learning Support teacher to access, so we added her as well. We created profiles and roles so that the English teachers and math teachers could share necessary data, but that the records were partitioned, so I did not have to see math assignments while I was teaching English. This tool transformed my ability to manage student learning data for myself and my colleagues, allowing me to be very efficient and spend more time on the craft of teaching.

About the AuthorMike Rutherford is the High School Technology Coordinator and Librarian at International School Bangkok (ISB) in Thailand. He is responsible for the needs of the high school in regard to technology and the library – which he thinks is a ridiculously fun job! He uses Salesforce and Pardot to solve all kinds of challenges at ISB. He is currently working with high school students to learn to use these powerful tools. Prior to this year, Mike was teaching 6th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Housing association Stadlander has a long-term focus on planning exactly the right kind of new housing, and a short-term strategy to communicate more effectively with individual tenants. Stadlander selected Salesforce to help it achieve these goals.

The composition of the Dutch population fluctuates continuously, reflecting both an aging population and the influx of new additions to the population headcount. Housing associations must constantly keep pace with these developments. In West-Brabant and Zeeland, the area served by Stadlander, some of the developments are more pronounced than in the Netherlands as a whole. This is why Stadlander has a long-term focus on planning exactly the right kind of new housing, and a short-term strategy to communicate even more effectively with individual tenants. Stadlander selected the Salesforce Platform to help achieve these goals. So what exactly does this involve?

Stadlander rents to low-income households

Stadlander rents approximately 15,000 affordable homes to households earning below the statutory income threshold which is in place in the Netherlands. One in three homes in the Netherlands is rented social housing. Few other countries have such a high percentage of social housing. Housing associations work within the social sector, and are nonprofit organisations with a remit bound by law. The main role of a housing association is to plan, build, manage and provide housing.

Developing financial resources for better housing

Although housing associations are nonprofit organisations, they still need to be financially healthy in order to provide better housing.

In 2015, Stadlander consolidated several offices in a single location and began to use digital technology as the main means of communication with tenants. For a significant portion of the tenants (some 20%), this move proved to be a bridge too far. In some cases, these tenants had little or no digital access owing to their financial circumstances, and in others they were not able to use smartphones and the Internet due to disability or old age. The tenants in this group therefore continued to contact Stadlander by phone, resulting in such pressure on the helpline staff that people began to leave their jobs. It also became apparent that the existing IT environment and Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) system were no longer fit for purpose.

From standalone applications to a global standard

Stadlander decided to make the switch from standalone applications to a single global standard based on an ERP platform with an open Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for contact with customers. It was vital that the financial side of the system was accurate to the last cent, and the client contact system had to link seamlessly with new forms of communication. Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud proved to be the best match for Stadlander’s needs and requirements.

The first place Nonprofit Cloud was implemented was the ‘customer hub’ — the customer support department. The transition began with Service Cloud. Repair requests are the main reason that customers contact Stadlander, and the company has opted to develop a unique collaboration with local repair companies. Working within the confines of a framework agreement, the repair companies are free to carry out the repairs at their own discretion. Communication between the customer hub and these contractors is now handled entirely through Salesforce.

More and more applications are gradually being migrated to Salesforce solutions. The next step is to deploy Salesforce Communities as a platform that tenants can use to resolve their own issues. With the new Lightning interface and communication opportunities, use of the ‘My Domain’ feature is set to grow.

Implementation process

The setup within a housing association is all a little different and a little more complex than it appears from the outside. The collaboration between the first Salesforce implementation partner and Stadlander was not without its difficulties, but the challenging start was soon forgotten and thoughts quickly turned to new beginnings once Salesforce.org got involved. Stadlander had the opportunity to work with one of the top Architecture Specialists at Salesforce.org on pinpointing the problems and creating a plan to tackle them. Once this step was complete, a new Salesforce partner stepped in to take over the job, working closely with an external project specialist. With focus, planning and expertise now all in place, things began to change and Stadlander was soon able to access a steady stream of new functionality. This represents the largest Salesforce operation within the organisation, and a small team now works continuously to deliver new functionality in response to requests from internal users. This sort of approach would never have been possible with the old systems.

Between sixty and eighty employees currently have direct contact with customers via Salesforce — this means that around half of the workforce works regularly in Salesforce. The biggest challenge that lies ahead for 2019 is to expand the Salesforce deployment so that the entire organisation is making full use of Salesforce and its services. The goal is for tenants to feel that they are central to the process, and this will be achieved by adopting a business-oriented approach across the various departments.

Migration to new ERP system

The Salesforce implementation would not have been possible without the support of our implementation partner, Appsolutely, and our integration specialist, InfoSupport. The migration to a new ERP system began in 2017, and went live early this summer when it was seamlessly integrated with Salesforce. Our ICT department and ICT partners dedicated a huge amount of time and attention to making this impressive project a reality.

In 2019, Stadlander is set to reap the rewards of the foundation it has built in collaboration with Salesforce. Using Salesforce as a platform for tenants to resolve their own issues is a big step forward. Salesforce Communities, Marketing Cloud and perhaps Pardot will be the most important tools when it comes to ensuring that the tenants embrace the new online platform. An omni-channel strategy will ensure that there is always an alternative route for those who are not able to resolve their own issues via digital channels. Perhaps our Einstein technology will help Stadlander gain new insights into the wishes of its tenants. The data is certainly there, in any case!

Find out more about the Housing sector and learn how you can unlock the power of the Salesforce platform to become a Connected Housing Association.

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At Salesforce.org, we are dedicated to helping institutions drive engagement across the entire student lifecycle. That’s why we recently partnered with Nucleus Research to take a closer look at the greatest challenges in higher education and how Salesforce.org Education Cloud can help. In their latest guidebook, Nucleus highlights common obstacles across higher ed as well as the impact Education Cloud can have on institutions – including a 40% increase in student engagement.

“Most higher education institutions are drowning in data, but few have a centralized way to manage student engagement from recruiting to matriculation to graduation – never mind alumni relations and donations. With Education Cloud, we found organizations could increase productivity and student engagement, coordinate efforts across multiple departments, and adopt a more data-driven culture that could more effectively ensure student success.” – Rebecca Wettemann, VP Research, Nucleus Research

As part of their research, Nucleus surveyed 72 higher education decision-makers across both North America and Europe. Here’s what they had to say:

The Current Higher Ed Landscape

When asked to grade their own institution’s performance in key areas such as recruiting, student services, career services, and alumni relations, Nucleus found that the average grade for recruiting and alumni relations was a C+ and C respectively. Student services and career services, key components of student engagement, each received a B-.

These grades point to a larger challenge of multiple siloed data systems across campus.
Data silos make it difficult to attract, engage and guide students throughout the entire student lifecycle. In fact, the average institution has 35 different applications or systems to manage recruiting, enrollment, engagement, job placement, and alumni and donor engagement. Without a comprehensive view of every student, institutions often fall short of providing the seamless and personalized experience that today’s students expect.

“Before, at each touchpoint with a student, the data was recorded and stored separately. Some departments were using multiple disparate CRM applications, and there was no central hub for information. With Education Cloud, we have democratized our data on the cloud and been able to retire redundant legacy CRM Applications.” – Education Cloud customer

Technology Needs to be Flexible, Secure, and Innovative

Nucleus found there were four main reasons why higher education customers chose Education Cloud: its higher ed-specific capabilities, data security, breadth of capabilities within the solution and the Salesforce ecosystem, and Salesforce’s investments in ongoing innovation.

Institutions need a CRM that not only speaks the language of higher ed, but also consistently adopts new features and functionality to align with the evolving challenges facing the industry. Nucleus found that Education Cloud customers value the continuous innovation from Salesforce.org as well as the extensive partner network and third-party point solutions that allow for the flexibility needed to meet their specific business goals. Education Cloud is also compliant with federal regulations, keeping data secure and protected for each and every student.

“With all the applications and tools available through Salesforce, we can configure the system specific to the procedures and workflows of our university. Other vendors have begun to offer CRM for higher ed, but none are as mature or flexible as Education Cloud.” – Education Cloud customer

Education Cloud Drives Real Results

In addition to a 40% increase in student engagement among institutions using Education Cloud, user productivity increased by 12% to 18%, with some organizations seeing dramatic increases of up to 80%.

Institutions cited the ability to ease advisor scheduling with automated tasks and many were able to increase efficiencies across campus with less time spent gathering student data. Ease of integration with an SIS, LMS, financial aid systems and more allowed for changes to take place quickly across campus. With features like Einstein Analytics, customers were able to quickly create student engagement reports, predict student outcomes and take proactive measures to guide students to success. Many institutions noted that Salesforce.org was truly committed to their use of Education Cloud with support before, during, and after deployment.

“We set a goal that 90 percent of graduated students are placed to a job within 3 months of graduating. Each year since our Education Cloud deployment, we’ve exceeded that 90 percent mark.” – Education Cloud customer

Stronger student relationships are built on the foundation of connected student data. Technology needs to help institutions maximize every students’ potential — from the moment a student first sets foot on campus to the day they graduate and become alumni.

By creating a 360-degree view of every student, Education Cloud empowers institutions to turn data into insights and insights into actions. These connected insights make it possible to shape proactive and personalized interactions with students, ultimately putting student relationships at the center of every institution.

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Salesforce.org acquired roundCorner. roundCorner was the first Salesforce.org Platinum App Partner for the nonprofit market in North America and provides fundraising solutions and industry expertise to meet the needs of the largest global organizations today. Now, the world’s #1 CRM for social good organizations is coming together with enterprise industry experts to deliver the best technology solutions for the social sector.

Salesforce.org and roundCorner have a shared vision of customer success. roundCorner enterprise fundraising technology and managed services complement our cloud-based solutions and professional services that empower our community of approximately 40,000 customers. Together, we are striving to create a better world where social good organizations can focus on what matters – their constituents and their beneficiaries be it students, survivors, the homeless, educators, children, wildlife or our planet.

We are furthering our commitment to empowering organizations to achieve their missions by providing the best technology through Nonprofit Cloud, Education Cloud, and Philanthropy Cloud. Collaborating with our community to develop comprehensive product solutions to solve the world’s most difficult problems remains at the heart of our approach. We’re thrilled to add roundCorner’s talented team to our own and to provide roundCorner customers with continued support.

This announcement marks an important milestone in our commitment to investing in fundraising solutions and services for our Salesforce.org cloud technology. Together with our partners and the ecosystem, we are proud to offer the most comprehensive technology solutions for those who change the world.

]]>How Higher Education Leaders Are Demystifying the Future of Workhttps://www.salesforce.org/how-higher-education-leaders-are-demystifying-the-future-of-work/
Fri, 11 Jan 2019 10:52:23 +0000https://www.salesforce.org/?p=37371“The mission of higher education now is to help students become robot-proof,” said Joseph Aoun, President of Northeastern University, and author of Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of... Read More

“The mission of higher education now is to help students become robot-proof,” said Joseph Aoun, President of Northeastern University, and author of Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. “Every learner now has to be able to interact with machines, learn how to grasp data, and do things that machines can’t, such as be empathetic, creative, and entrepreneurial.”

Why address this now? The World Economic Forum has reported that 65% of students entering college this year will ultimately be working in jobs that don’t currently exist. To be prepared for these opportunities and challenges, over 80 University Presidents, Provosts and other higher education leaders and influencers attended the New England Innovation Leadership Forum on November 13 with Salesforce.org, co-hosted by Dr. Paul Leblanc, President at Southern New Hampshire University and Dr. Joseph Aoun, President at Northeastern University.

The following is a summary of four ways that colleges and universities should respond and prepare students for the ever-changing work landscape, which is being driven by data automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence amidst the fourth industrial revolution.

Fireside Chat on The Future of Work in the Age of Data Automation and Artificial Intelligence, with Dr. Paul LeBlanc, President at Southern New Hampshire University, Dr. Joseph Aoun, President at Northeastern University. Moderated by Beth McMurtrie, Senior Writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

1. Colleges Should Embrace Lifelong Learning Programs

The era of the 18-year-old full-time undergraduate is shifting towards colleges with more working adults who are also attending college part time. Nationwide, nearly half of all college students are 24 or older and already working, and 76% of students qualify as adult learners.

For colleges to thrive, they should embrace lifelong learning programs that allow workers to continually upgrade their expertise — including “micro-credentialing” — to help them learn new skills.

Affordability issues may be a constraint here, since employers are often averse to paying for education benefits that may not help their bottom lines in the long run. And the federal government has largely been uninvolved in helping older students pay college bills.

“Singapore and several Scandinavian countries have national policies that support lifelong learning,” Aoun said in an interview conducted before the forum. “In the U.S., our policies have been too restrictive. We need to extend financial aid throughout the lifetime of a student.”

2. Online Education Programs Are an Emerging Opportunity

According to a recent survey by Inside Higher Ed, a majority of admissions directors say they were very concerned about meeting their school’s enrollment goals. With increased pressure to recruit a full class, some colleges have put their energies behind developing their online education programs, which include time-stressed adult learners.

“Our online student population has an average age of 32,” said Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University. The school includes 135,000 online students from around the world. Eighty percent of them are continuing education students. “They often work full-time and have kids. They find themselves stuck in the professional world. They just need a credential to get to the next level.”

To deal with the “seismic changes” LeBlanc sees that are upending the nature of education, college leaders would do well to find newer groups of students who can help their institutions grow. “You need to find populations you don’t serve,” LeBlanc said. “We’ve focused on reaching refugees around the world. More institutions need to target adults who have children and jobs.”

3. The Advent of AI Increases the Importance of Humanities Education

As Aoun’s book notes, a “robot-proof” education helps students be flexible and creative to invent, discover, or create new innovations. Students will need data literacy to manage the flow of big data, and technological literacy to know how their machines work, but human literacy – the humanities, communication, and design – is even more important to adapt to change.

“We may be on the cusp of the revitalization of humanities because it facilitates the critical skills necessary to lifelong learning,” said Aoun. “And in the job market of the future, skills having to do with creativity, critical thinking, and synthesis will be highly desired. All lead back to the humanities.”

He cites the experiential learning programs at Northeastern and elsewhere as one way to use those three skill sets to engage students more meaningfully in their future careers. “They give students a context, a chance to integrate what they learn, and puts faculty and learning at the center.”

It also gives colleges the chance to develop partnerships with companies that will help educate their students and, often, pay them for their work. “We have worked with companies to find out what they want out of their employees, which helps us to formulate our education plans,” said Aoun. The partnership has also given universities some guidance as it creates new types of degrees aimed at solving real-life problems in the workplace.

4. Improve Your University’s Experiential Learning

One thing new technologies excel at is getting the attention of the next generation. Innovations involving augmented reality and virtual reality can fulfill young students’ desires for deeper experiences, while preparing them to use and develop such technologies in the classroom and the workplace, says Maya Georgieva, a futurist and the digital director at The New School.

“We’re heading toward the age of experience, when students will want to have experiences on demand, and that includes virtual reality,” she said.

Students in biology labs at Arizona State University are doing their lab work in a virtual space. Some universities are partnering with hospitals to teach students via simulations that use augmented or virtual reality tools. Early studies have found that learning retention rates improve by up to 10% when students are allowed to use virtual reality programs, Georgieva said.

Unlike previous generations, students will have to be masters of many kinds of consciousness, LeBlanc concurred: “This coming generation will live in a blended reality, virtual and otherwise. They won’t have the choice to be offline.”

“Those who are 22 or younger right now are better at most everything we adults can do, except for face-to-face relations,” said Bob Johansen, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future, a Palo Alto, California, think tank.

And they are likely to take newer types of virtual reality technology even further — and higher education along with it. “Ten years from now, we’ll all be gamers,” Johansen told the audience. “What we think of video gaming today will become the most powerful learning medium in history.”

Peering into the crystal ball is rarely comfortable, panelists said, but among institutions that tend to change slowly, such discussions have never become more important.

“Universities are really good at looking in the rearview mirror — to say, ‘We’ve always done it this way,’” said LeBlanc, in a separate interview. “It really helps us to align ourselves with people who look toward the future.”

At stake for colleges are self-preservation — as Amazon, Google, and other large companies begin to look into offering higher education — and the relevancy they currently offer students.

“Higher education has always taken on big challenges. Unfortunately, it has often done so in a siloed way,” said Aoun. “Becoming robot-proof is a long-term journey. Our whole focus needs to be on this: If we compete with machines on their turf we’ll lose. If we compete on our turf, we can win.”

At Salesforce.org, we’re committed to continuous innovation. Today, we’re excited to share that our newest Nonprofit Cloud feature: Batch Gift Entry is live in Sandboxes and will be GA in Production orgs on January 16th!

We’re also committed to helping nonprofits of all shapes and sizes succeed with our technology, so we’re also thrilled to announce that Batch Gift Entry will now be available right inside the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)!

We want to start with a huge thank you to the community and the customers who participated in our pilot to make this feature come to life.

Why Batch Gift Entry Helps Nonprofit Fundraisers

Fundraisers need a complete view of their fundraising, and part of that process is getting clean and accurate data into your system. Many organizations have a gift processor manually entering gift information, while others opt to use caging vendors and receive files that need to be processed. Regardless, getting clean and accurate data into NPSP should be easy and efficient.

With Batch Gift Entry (BGE), customers like you can easily streamline data entry. And since BGE is native to NPSP, NPSP users get all of the benefits right out of the box!

This new feature includes a grid interface for high volume, mouse-free data entry, the ability to process large batch files on one page with matching logic to prevent duplicate information, and advanced donation matching and selection. You can easily:

Use Intelligence to Prevent Duplicate Records – Use intelligent matching logic to prevent duplicate opportunity and payment records. Search for existing Accounts or Contacts, and associate each donation with the right person or account. If no such contact exists, quickly create a new contact.

Harness Advanced Donation Matching and Selection – Check for existing matching donations each time you save a gift with our dry run capability. See existing open donations and update an existing one as needed.

Save the Date! We’ll be hosting an Introduction to Batch Gift Entry in Nonprofit Cloud webinar on January 29th at 2:00 pm EDT / 11:00 am PST for a demo of the feature by one of our very own Product Managers. We’ll finish up with tips and tricks for you to use in your own instance!

At Salesforce, we believe equity begins with education, and our community of stakeholders (our Ohana) includes our local communities, schools, and students. This is why we are so committed to making sure our young people are Future Ready and equipped with what they need to succeed. As part of these initiatives we take part in Computer Science Education Week (CS Ed Week). At CS Ed Week, employees volunteered with school teachers to create exciting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning activities to help prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.

This year, during Computer Science Education Week (December 3-7, 2018) 620 Salesforce employees volunteered over 1,700 hours globally to help ensure students are ready to transition from the classroom to the board room.

Here are some of the highlights:

Volunteering Events in San Francisco, Oakland, Chicago, Indianapolis

Over the course of the week, volunteers hosted over 75 middle school students at the new Salesforce Tower in San Francisco for a day full of learning about the Salesforce platform, 3D printing, and an office tour! For many students, this was the first time they had visited a company — and engaging with 3D printing technology, too. Students 3D printed everything from custom keychains to tree ornaments to gifts for their loved ones.

At 21 of our adopted schools across Oakland and San Francisco, volunteers facilitated Code.org Hour of Code lessons and robotics challenges using Sphero robots. They also helped students design their own apps and websites.

But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what Lilly Smith, Program Manager for Oakland School Volunteers at the Oakland Public Education Fund said: “Volunteers demystify the tech world for students. Beyond the coding know-how, volunteers give students real-world examples of how to set goals and chart their career path. Students start to see themselves as future leaders in the field.”

In Chicago, employees hosted at STEM Fair at Solorio High School, where students learned about career options in panel discussions, participated in a “shark tank” pitch presentation challenge, and built their own apps.

In Indianapolis, in partnership with National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), Salesforce employees hosted 65 Indiana K12 counselors as part of the “Counselors for Computing” (C4C) program. Employees participated in career panels with the purpose of providing counselors a sneak peak into working in a tech company. Their day at Salesforce equipped them with an understanding of how to prepare students for careers in tech.

Volunteering Highlights from Australia and India

In Sydney, Australia, volunteers hosted 140 Bexley Public School students from grades 3-6. Over the course of two days, students got to hear from Futureforce employee graduates on their journey of transitioning from the classroom to a corporate environment. Students learned about the evolution of technology in our daily lives, and how Salesforce has revolutionized the way business operates.

Bexley Public School students in Sydney, Australia and Futureforce graduates enjoying their day touring the Sydney office.

In Bangalore, our employees ran a day-long workshop on Virtual Reality, 3D holography, and filmmaking/editing, and they also built bots using simple circuits. The students were very excited to learn about these concepts and even got a chance to shoot their own short movie!

Students in Bangalore learning about film making and editing from a Salesforce employee.

In Hyderabad, 20 students from Government High School Lingampally visited Salesforce to learn about different types of engineering, computer fundamentals, programming, and problem-solving. Volunteers guided students through an Hour of Code challenge that introduced the kids to different types of programming languages.

Volunteering Events in Europe

In Amsterdam, our employees hosted a group of high school students from ROC van Amsterdam at Salesforce offices. In this event, volunteers taught an introduction to robotics through a hands-on introduction experience to coding. Students were able to interact with professionals who guided them through putting their theoretical knowledge into practice!

Students from School 21 learning how to create a 3D printed keychain.

The London office hosted students from our grantee partner organization School 21 for 3D Printing using Tinkercad!

In Germany, employees facilitated a workshop for 39 young adults that covered topics like Salesforce fundamentals, AI, full stack development, data analysis, app development, and basic computer literacy. They also hosted over 30 students in the Munich office to participate in a CoderDojo session and learn about jobs in the IT sector.

About the AuthorBrenda is a Program Manager of Education Initiatives on the Salesforce.org Philanthropy and Engagement Team. She is focused on creating programs to ensure students and educators have the resources and skills they need to be #FutureReady. Using her experience as a classroom teacher, Brenda is dedicated to building relationships with the community, engaging employees to volunteer in schools, and organizing complex events that link sectors together in order to benefit students, families, educators, and community members. In addition to her work, she is the Global Philanthropy Chair of Latinoforce, a Salesforce Employee Resource Group. Connect with her on Twitter: @BYasminMartinez

]]>4 Tips for Nonprofit Success This Yearhttps://www.salesforce.org/4-tips-for-nonprofit-success-this-year/
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 12:03:49 +0000https://www.salesforce.org/?p=37350By: Phil Burns, Director of Solution Architecture, Candoris As we begin the year, New Year’s resolutions are top of mind. What better time than now to reflect on 2018... Read More

As we begin the year, New Year’s resolutions are top of mind. What better time than now to reflect on 2018 and plan for the year ahead?

But New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for your personal benefit. Reflecting on your goals and developing intentional plans can help energize your organization’s mission, too!

As you’re planning for 2019, below are some helpful insights to inspire your key initiatives. Watch our webinar with Wycliffe for a deeper discussion on becoming a better Connected Nonprofit.

1. UNDERSTAND Your People and Your Data

Sounds simple, right? But do you really know the people who engage with your mission? Internal staff, volunteers, and field workers are the heartbeat of your organization, and their impact ripples through the lives of the people with whom they connect. A CRM can help you understand the characteristics and individual connections of every person in your network, which will support the growth and impact of your mission. Nonprofit Cloud allows you to track the individual characteristics of everyone in your network, giving you a unique view of who they are across all aspects of their lives, who they interact with, and how they are impacting your mission.

2. COMMUNICATE with Purpose

With an enhanced understanding of your people, you can revisit the ways in which you communicate. Irrespective of the size of your network, marketing automation can help you share relevant and timely messages, specific to the unique identities of your people. Nonprofit Cloud will support you with advanced segmentation capabilities – helping to identify the optimal recipients of your messages and to personalize those messages for maximum impact. And segmentation is more than just identifying internal and external constituents. It’s about tracking and knowing the unique identifying characteristics and associated activities that define the people within your network. Segmentation is a way of personalizing your messages to fit the attributes of smaller subgroups. Designing strategies to better communicate with these different subgroups will increase the impact of your message. Why? 77% of ROI comes from segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns, meaning that it’s worth the effort!

When you’re ready to share your message, Salesforce can help with that, too, through software like Pardot and Marketing Cloud that helps you automate processes, track messages and improve how you engage with constituents. Make 2019 the year you communicate with renewed purpose.

3. OPTIMIZE Processes and Procedures

In organizations large and small, it’s common for processes to vary by department or individual, often due to differing objectives. Additionally, traditional data management systems can’t always address the processes that are unique to your organization. That’s why many nonprofit and faith-based organizations are moving to Nonprofit Cloud – because YOU can define the processes, instead of the system. You have the opportunity to identify what’s working and to celebrate the best practices that are elevating your organization’s work and creating impact in support of your mission. Salesforce provides powerful tools that can automate your repetitive tasks and processes, including Approvals, Process Builder, Workflow, and Cloud Flow Designer. For instance, Lightning Flow can be used to set up automated tasks and processes, add automation to pages and apps, and connect your Salesforce to external systems. Learn more about choosing the right automation tool.

Did you know that Nonprofit Cloud supports system integrations? It’s true – Salesforce doesn’t have to replace all your existing systems. Instead, it’s built to support your existing systems by eliminating data silos across multiples platforms. For instance, consider the efficiencies gained if all your event data synced with all your online giving transactions, which also synced with all your marketing engagement touches! Use 2019 to imagine all the potential benefits of this unified view. Nonprofit Cloud can help you make it happen and streamline the important work throughout your organization.

Now that you’ve streamlined your process and gotten a better understanding of the people attached to your organization, there’s time to focus on a group that sometimes gets overlooked. Your volunteer or donor recruiting process places people into meaningful roles that lead to deep engagement and activity with the organization’s mission, right? But what about the people who raise their hand, yet don’t fit into a needed or desired role within the organization right now? In the past, you might not have had the resources to immediately and fully connect with this group, which meant they frequently fell off your radar. But this is an important group! And with the power of the Salesforce platform, you can create efficiencies throughout your organization to give focus where you were previously unable to do so. Many similar organizations are leveraging the power of Salesforce Communities to drive meaningful engagement with varied and diverse constituencies. So, remember – there is value in the lost group. They’ve raised their hand and expressed the desire to join your mission – make 2019 the year you reconnect!

All of this boils down to accelerating the impact of your mission and empowering the people in your organization and community. Nonprofit Cloud helps you put the R in CRM: Relationships that make up your network. Watch the webinar to learn how Salesforce.org and Candoris, a Premium implementation partner, can help you energize your mission and provide inspiration for 2019 to maximize your impact. Cheers!

About the AuthorPhil Burns is the Director of Solution Architecture at Candoris and a senior member of our software engineering team. His experience spans more than 20 years and includes roles in consulting, engineering, research & development, and senior management. He is a skilled nonprofit business analyst and is an expert at uncovering our customer’s true organizational needs and opportunities. Candoris provides consulting and implementation services for nonprofits, especially the faith-based sector.

Candoris is a Salesforce.org Premium Partner that helps nonprofits succeed with Nonprofit Cloud.